Beep Beep Bob

Posted on Fri Oct 16th, 2020 @ 9:14pm by Ensign Alexandra 'Lexi' O'Connery & Lieutenant JG Mattias Constantine

Mission: Mission 3 - 100
Location: Deck D- Communciations Center
Timeline: Day 60, Month 3, Year 08:00
1916 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Lexi was sure that she was going to throw up as she finally took a deep breath and stepped into the communication centre relived that it was empty for once. She needed just a few moments to herself to compose and be slightly proud of herself that she had the courage and was on time for her shift after finally getting approval to return to light duties. It had taken her a long time to pluck up the courage to walk thereafter getting it off her chest that she just kept seeing the blood on the deck.

With a deep breath, she sat down at one of the consoles and sat down running her hand over the familiar metal and plastic. She had just retrieved her headset when the door opened again.

"Well, hello there Ensign O'Connery. Didn't fancy I'd see you here this morning. Fancy a good, strong cuppa this morning?"

Lieutenant Constantine walked through the open door into the communications center, carefully balancing two cups of tea as he walked towards the console where Lexi was sitting. A wide smile spread across his features as he thought back to the countless late night conversations along the road to recovery after the Vrav boarding party had infiltrated the ship. Peace of mind was never an easy thing to restore, but Constantine could not help but feel proud of Lexi for facing things head on.

Lexi turned and smiled at him brightly. "Good Morning Lieutenant. I would love a strong cuppa." She answered. She was relieved it was him and best of all he was carrying tea with him. Could he get any more perfect? She could not help but wonder as she accepted the steaming mug. "So what has changed?" She wondered looking around. It had been three weeks or so since she had stepped anywhere near the communication center.

"Not a lot, really," Matt replied with a shrug between sips of tea. "It's been a little while since we've had to interact with the Vrav, but we've been trying to make incremental improvements to the translation algorithm. Declensions have been the focus as of late. It's been kind of tricky trying to get case, number, and gender right for everything, but we're doing our best. The summary of changes is listed in the changelog if you want to take a look. I'm glad you're here to take a look at it - I'm sure you'll find ways to help us along as you get back up to speed."

The small blonde nodded as she looked at the console and the new entries that were there since had last looked. “So much has changed.” She sighed knowing it was good that the vrav were ignoring them for now. She would get her head back in the game quickly but it was a lot of information and analysing to take it.

"Otherwise, there's not a lot going on. Obviously we don't have anyone to speak to long range, but I've been doing some analysis of the wormhole we're keeping a safe distance from. You should have a listen and see if you can pick anything out I'm not seeing. As a matter of fact, I was just about to send my analysis of the gravitational eddies to Lieutenant Leyton and Commander Leroux for review, just in case they decide that this idea of piloting a shuttlepod is the one we end up going with," Constantine explained, unsure of whether the ship's current status had come up in their daily conversation or not.

Lexi raised an eyebrow at what he said about wormholes and analysis of the gravitational eddies. What had been going on? Had they found a way back? Wormholes were the stuff of legends, and they had just managed to find one just like they had managed to find water and food. Either they were having a lot of miracles or something was waiting for them to get too comfortable before the penny dropped. “I will. Sounds like I would get a kick out of it.”

"Have you been by sickbay? How has your rehabilitation and physical therapy been going?"

She looked at him sideways from where she span back to the console. “Are you asking me as Department Head or as my suffering boyfriend?” She teased knowing full well they came as a duo due to communications now comprising of them plus one night operator due to deaths two months ago.

"Both," Mattias grinned. From his vantage point, a little bit of the flame that set Lexi apart from the others had begun to show signs of life again, and no matter which hat he wore, both the department head and the boyfriend were encouraged to see it. "As the Chief Communications Officer, I think our workflow is much improved when we have each other to talk our way through the problem at hand - to serve as a sounding board for each other, so I obviously benefit from you returning to work, even if it's only part time for now," he explained as he walked over and took her hands in his. "Your boyfriend is much more of a worried mess. Even though I know you're strong enough to work through this on your own, I feel like I'm not doing enough sometimes."

"Well someone has to compliment you and your experiences." She teased him a little how his workflow and how they were a team, it was what worked about them professionally and relationship wise. "Fed up of Duncan as a sounding board already. Should have gone to the Captain." She carried on teasing him as it felt good to be dressed in uniform and doing it. It made a change from work out clothes or pjs. She just felt a little more like herself and less like a patient. Lexi let him take her hands and squeezed him back standing up so the height difference was not quite as pronounced all the time. "You firstly saved my life and then have not judged with staying in my quarters despite believing that falsely. If anyone should be not doing enough it is me."

"Don't be silly," Matt dismissed the thought. "You're full time job is to get healthy. Everything else is just bonus. Kinda like how you make my life better just by being in it," he winked with a wry smile. "But seeing how you're here for now, I know you must have a thousand questions about the status of the mission. Go on, ask away, I'll see if I can bring you up to speed on what's been going on."

"Just tell me everything. I know nothing other than what you have told me really." She admitted. She had been doing her best to just thrive again living in her own little bubble where not much else existed. She had questions but she had not basics on what had happened.

"Well, honestly, there's not a lot of say at the moment. There's been the development of the wormhole that we are keeping a safe distance from. Lieutenant Leyton and some of the engineering team are trying to figure out a way to get a suite of sensors onto one of the shuttlepods in order to get a better idea of what's going on. I mean, if we're cosmically lucky, maybe, maybe this wormhole takes us closer to home, but I haven't even been getting my hopes up," Constantine was quick to tamper down any unwarranted optimism. "Speaking of Lieutenant Leyton, she's been made the second officer, which is a great choice, don't you think?"

Lexi could feel her heart beating faster at the mention of a wormhole that could bring them home. Was in possible? Could they really be that lucky? She took a deep break and shook her head to focus on sharing her thought about Lieutenant Leyton. "That is fantastic. Leroux needs help with everything with Sloan in brig."

"Other than that, have you run into Ensign Nascimento recently? He's been working on trying to solve the issue of what we can offer to the Vrav in order to replace their food supply. He's trying to formulate something close to their algae, but has been having trouble making it to where they won't have a violent, allergic reaction to it," Matt's voice trailed off. "As for the Vrav themselves, they've been very quiet. And I don't really like it. Almost gives you the suspicion that something is up, you know?"

"I have spoken to him. I have hung out in science labs with him with Darru has not been around to talk to. He is unique." The Vulcan was the easiest person to talk to other than Mattias. Not everyone appreciated the Vulcan's onboard but they were stuck with them on board and in her opinion, they were not that bad. "Oh, I am highly suspicious of them anyway." She grinned looked at the console for a second. "They will be back." She mused.

Taking into account the amount of training the crew had undergone while still on Earth, Mattias and Lexi had both spent months around the equipment in the communications center. That, in turn, was more than enough time for both of them to become accustomed to the sensory norm, whether it be the heat emanating from the electronics, the sounds of the warp engine, or the sequence of lights that signified which sensor array was currently active. As creatures of habit, anyone paying attention would notice anything out of the ordinary quite easily, but as Mattias' eyes narrowed, he still couldn't be sure he could trust his vision.

"Um, Lexi, did you see that?" Constantine pointed to the system resource display on the console beside them. "I'm not currently working on anything, but the central processor just sprang into life for a few seconds there. Did one of us hit a button by accident?"

Lexi turned from her position to look at the console and frowned, she had been lost in the familiarness of the comms centre and listening to Mattias talking about the misadventure they were all on. She had not seen anything. "I do not believe so but who knows," She sometimes had twinges every now and then in her arms. Maybe it had been her? "It could have been me." She said blushing embarrassed that it might have been her.

"No, I don't think so," Constantine's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You always remind me to not lean on the console or to put my drinks on it, so I don't think you would've bumped it, even unintentionally. I guess we'll have to keep an eye on it. Oh well," he shrugged. "Maybe I didn't connect something properly when we effected repairs in here last week."

Lexi watched him carefully. She did not know as she really had not been paying attention but she would be looking now. She had to just get herself back in that mindset but after coffee. "Yet I see this coffee mug stain." She motion to where there was a stain on the console top. "Well, I am sure after your Bridge shift we can get up to some old tricks and have a look together." She would have normally looked at it herself but her confidence was just not there.

"Ah, speaking of which, I'd better get going before they notice nobody is up there. It's good to have you back, Ensign O'Connery," Constantine winked.

 

Comments (1)